Advertising forms an important part of broadcast programming including broadcast video (television), radio and printed media. The revenues generated from advertisers subsidize and in some cases pay entirely for programming received by subscribers. For example, over the air broadcast programming (non-cable television) is provided entirely free to the subscribers and is essentially paid for by the advertisements placed in the shows that are watched. Even in cable television systems and satellite-based systems, the revenues from advertisements subsidize the cost of the programming, and were it not for advertisements, the monthly subscription rates for cable television would be many times higher than at present. Radio similarly offers free programming based on payments for advertising. The low cost of newspapers and magazines is based on the subsidization of the cost of reporting, printing and distribution from the advertising revenues.
Along with the multitude of programming choices that the television viewer faces, the viewers are subject to advertisements. While advertisements are sometimes beneficial to subscribers and deliver desired information regarding specific products or services, consumers generally view advertising as a “necessary evil” for broadcast-type entertainment. A prior art (present model) of providing advertisements along with actual programming is based on linked sponsorship. In the linked sponsorship model, the advertisements are inserted into the actual programming based on the contents of the programming, e.g., a baby stroller advertisement may be inserted into a parenting program. Even with linked sponsorship, advertising, and in particular broadcast television advertising, is mostly ineffective. That is, a large percentage, if not the majority, of advertisements do not have a high probability of affecting a sale. In addition to this fact, many advertisements are not even seen/heard by the subscriber who may mute the sound, change channels, or simply leave the room during a commercial break. The reasons for such ineffectiveness are due to the fact that the displayed advertisements are not targeted to the subscribers' needs, likes or preferences. Generally, the same advertisements are displayed to all the subscribers irrespective of the needs and preferences of the subscribers.
In order to deliver more targeted programming and advertising to subscribers, it is necessary to understand their likes and dislikes to a greater extent than is presently done today. Targeting of an ad requires knowing certain attributes of the target viewer, demographic, psychograph, and any data relevant to determining the relative appropriateness of an ad for the particular viewer. Systems which identify subscriber preferences based on their purchases and responses to questionnaires allow for the targeted marketing of literature in the mail, but do not in any sense allow for the rapid and precise delivery of programming and advertising which is known to have a high probability of acceptance to the subscriber. In order to determine which programming or advertising is appropriate for the subscriber, knowledge of that subscriber and of the subscriber's programming preferences is required. Characterizing or profiling viewers based on viewing habits may be used to achieve targeted advertising.
Methods for monitoring the viewing habits of television viewers, for classifying TV programming into categories, and for using the viewing habits for determining viewing preferences have been previously disclosed. For example                Bedard (WIPO publication WO 98/21877A2), assigned to Hyundai Electronics of San Jose, Calif., discloses a method for monitoring a viewer's viewing habits in order to arrange an electronic program guide (EPG) and determine viewing preferences;        Barton et al. (WIPO publication WO 00/59223), assigned to TIVO, Inc. of Alviso, Calif., discloses a data storage and scheduling system in a personal video recorder (PVR). Based on past viewing habits/preferences, the PVR automatically records desired programs; and        Maissel et al. (WIPO publication WO 99/01984A1), assigned to NDS Limited of Middlesex, England, discloses a method of customizing the EPG by monitoring viewing behavior to create a preference profile.        
A method for delivering targeted ads to different demographic groups in a television environment was disclosed by Wachob (U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,591), assigned to General Instrument of Hatboro, Pa. Wachob discloses a cable television system for broadcasting different commercial messages to different demographically targeted audiences. Demographic information is obtained and targeted audiences are formed based on subscriber address (i.e., geographic location) or on household survey information such as a viewing habit diary kept by the subscriber.
Methods for delivering advertising or other customized programming to viewers in a television environment based on previous viewing habits or menu selections has previously been disclosed. For example, Despain et al. (WIPO publication WO 00/14951), assigned to Next Century Media, Inc. of New Paltz, N.Y., discloses a system for targeted advertising in a digital system. In the system, a digital set-top box (STB) captures and uploads household data viewing preferences to the cable operator head end, which can then be used to deliver targeted ads and other content to the viewer based on the viewer preferences. An on-screen questionnaire is used to elicit demographic attributes and preferences from viewers. “Boo” and “applause” buttons on the remote control are used by the viewer to indicate viewer likes/dislikes. Channel change data can be captured and sent upstream, and in conjunction with data from the questionnaires and interactive buttons, may be used to provide each viewer with their own custom menu and forms of customized programming. However, Despain et al. do not teach local storing and processing of data to generate a viewer profile to be stored and utilized at the STB. Moreover, it does not teach specific methods on how to create a demographic, psychographic or other viewer profile from a multitude of viewer interaction data or how to correlate or use those profiles for the delivery of targeted advertisements.
A preference agent for monitoring television programs watched by a viewer is disclosed in Gogoi et al. (WIPO publication WO 99/65237), assigned to Metabyte, Inc. of Freemont, Calif. The preference agent, located within a STB or PVR, also retrieves category information about viewed programs, and generates a viewer program preference profile. The preference agent automatically records or suggests programs of interest to the viewer based on the viewer's program preference profile.
The creation of user profiles on an interactive computer is disclosed in Freeman et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,881), assigned to ACTV Inc., of Freeman, N.Y. The profiles are based on the selections made during one of the interactive programs, however, are limited to interactive program activity by the viewer, and are not based on general viewing habits or general surf activity.
Hendricks et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,989), assigned to Discovery Communications Inc., of Bethesda, Md., discloses a network controller that provides monitoring and control of STBs. The network controller also gathers data received from the STBs to compile subscriber viewing information and programs watched information. The data is processed to generate packages of advertisements, as well as account and billing reports, targeted towards each STB. To build a personal profile, the viewer answers a series of questions presented on a series of questionnaire menu screens.
Barton et al. (WIPO publication WO 00/59223), assigned to TIVO Inc. of Alviso, Calif., disclose a data storage and scheduling system, wherein viewing preferences can be inferred from viewing patterns, and where the navigation actions of the TV channels by the viewer are recorded, stored, and then sent upstream. However, Barton et al. do not teach or suggest local profiling or viewer identification, or how profiles could be utilized to delivery targeted advertising.
For the foregoing reasons, a need exists for a method and system for monitoring click-stream and other interactivity of a viewer with the viewer's television viewing environment and generating one more viewer profiles therefrom. Additionally, a need exists for the monitoring of interactivity and generation of viewer profiles to be performed within the television viewing environment (i.e., TV, STB, PVR). Furthermore, a need exists for such profiling to be done in a secure and privacy-protected manner. Moreover, a need exists for a reliable way of automatically, detecting or inferring, which specific individual or individuals, are actually watching the TV in a household comprising more than one individuals at a particular time, and for generating one or more profiles per each individual.